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I have received a statement of claim and I have no money to

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I have received a statement of claim and I have no money to pay for a Lawyer so I have to defend myself. I don’t qualify for help because I have assets worth more than $6000.In 2010 I started real estate investment. I bought few houses and sold them I renovated another one. In 2011 I have written a promissory note for $70,000. This was supposed to be bridge financing until I received the money from another investor. The other investor backed out. So I was never able to pay the Plaintiff back. The Plaintiff was my Home Stager. She lent me the money she now wants me to sell the house to give her the money back. I did modification to modify the one family home into a two units. I was hoping to get money from refinancing but the house did not appraised any higher than the price I had paid. Even if I sell I won’t get all her money back since it has not been long enough that I own the house to have increased in value. She is a Home Stager she knows the risks involved in investing in housing she knew I did not have that much experience. This was a promissory note without a collateral and I know I’m late I want to suggest to wait two more years to allow for the house to gain enough equity and I will also pay her a percentage of any commissions I get until the note is paid for plus the interest and if by the two year period the note is not paid for plus the interest than I will sell the house to give her money back.1) In her statement of claim she says she is retired but she was my Home Stager2) In her statement of claim she says that she included schedule A which was not included ? The statement of claim is not complete?3) I am willing to pay her back with interest she did not have to go to court hence I am not willing to pay for court costs4) How do I find out exactly when the 20 days is over I can’t remember the day it was delivered to me.5) What are can I say or am I just wasting my time the judge will just order me to sell the house

1. Probably this fact is irrelevant. But you can point out he true fact in your statement of defence. (If you file one)

2. You can contact her to say this was not received or check the copy a filed at court to get a copy. Of again, state in your defence that you have never received such a schedule.

3. You did not pay her back. She is entitle to sue. Very likely if she is successful she would also be awarded court costs. THat is routine.

4. You would have to contact the court to ask if she filed an affidavit setting out her proof of service which should include a date she says you were served.

5. The court will not have the power to immediately order that the house be sold, as this was not a debt secured by title to the house. But nothing you indicate above suggests that you have any valid defence to her claim, and if she obtains a judgment against you for the debt and costs she can register that as a lien against title to the house. She can also seek to force a judicial sale of assets, including the home. Whether a judge alas a judicial sale would depend on the amount of equity versus the debt. If the equity is close to the amount of debt then a forced sale is likely, as opposed to where there is far more equity available then the amount of debt.

You're right I don't have any defense I owe her the money and interest.

What I would like to obtain is how I will repay her I would like to take a portion of my commission and be allowed some time the longer I can wait the better my chances to be able to get the money . What are my chances of getting that? In this case the fact that she is a home stager is important as she is not an uneducated person about real estate investment.

The chances are not high. Generally a court will say that she is entitled to the judgment and she can enforce payment of the full amount. They rarely will allow a payment plan to be established. So your best option to get that in place is if it is done with consent of the creditor. So if you can convince her to settle prior to trial on such arrangement, then there is no reason that could not be out in place.

I already tried she didn't want anything to do with this arrangement. So am I wasting my money to have a defense what happens if I don't have a defense. I guess the process is quicker. How long does it take to get a date for the pre-trial mediation

If you do not file a defence, then she can quickly get default judgment against you. So filing a defence can perhaps increase the time it will take for her to get a judgment. But the costs thst could be awarded could also increase, so it is a trade off.

The time to get to a pre trial varies greatly from court point to court point but would typically be at least several months.

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